


Just Another Day

by LoriLee (cowgirl65)



Category: Big Valley
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-23
Updated: 2010-11-23
Packaged: 2017-10-26 05:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowgirl65/pseuds/LoriLee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heath has himself a day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Another Day

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any television show and make nothing from writing this other than cheap thrills

Heath tightened Charger’s girth before he vaulted back into the saddle. Most of the beeves were already together with the men who were going on the short drive to Sacramento and Heath had taken it upon himself to round up the remainder of the herd. He glanced at the sky as he chivvied the last few beasts together. The weather was chancy; clouds were blowing over and the wind was making the herd uneasy. Heath turned up his collar at the slight chill and nudged Charger closer to the animals. He should have asked one of the hands to stay and help him, but he reckoned he could still get them to the main herd before calling it a day.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed. Heath looked over to see a large tree slowly fall and hit the ground as a strong gust of wind blew through. Bawling in terror, the startled beeves took off and within moments a full-fledged stampede was heading in his direction. Heath quickly whirled Charger to get out of the way, but the plunging steers were on top of them before even the nimble-footed bay could react. In the confusion, the sturdy horse was struck across the hindquarters and as Charger skidded across the ground, Heath was thrown clear. He wasn’t sure if some of the Barkley luck was still with him or not when he landed with a thud in the braches of the fallen tree, but at least he was out of the way of the charging hooves.

Wincing as he pulled himself out of the tree’s grasp, Heath heard a loud tearing sound. He sighed when he looked down. As well as being stained from his fall, his new pants now sported a jagged tear across the thigh. There was nothing he could do about it out there, so he limped over to his tan Stetson and slapped it against his leg to get out some of the dirt before fixing it on his head and going over to his horse.

Charger trembled slightly, but the steadfast animal whuffled Heath’s neck as the cowboy ran his hands over the strong legs to assure himself his horse wasn’t injured. Heath then pulled himself slowly into the saddle and looked around. The herd was well scattered and the shadows were lengthening into late afternoon. There was no way he was going to get them rounded up before it became too dark to see and resigned himself to an extra early start the next day.

Heath didn’t want to push Charger, so it was well past dusk when he arrived home. He unsaddled his trusty mount and gave him a well-deserved rub down before turning him out into the corral.

“What the devil happened to you?”

Heath turned to see Nick lounging against the fence. His brother gave him a once-over, taking in the dirt and rips in his clothing. Somehow, as he recalled the events of the afternoon, Heath had to suppress a chuckle of what his big brother would have thought if he’d seen him.

Heath decided not to elaborate just then. At least his pride was still intact, if not his pants. “Just another day, Nick,” he told him with a crooked grin. “Just another day.”

**Author's Note:**

> This little flash fic that came to me from the Grade 3 vocabulary words when I was parent helper. The scene played through my head every time I looked at the board!
> 
> Here are the words that were on the board when I got to the classroom:
> 
> Jagged  
> Corral  
> Bawling  
> Trembled  
> Plunged  
> Skidding  
> Stained  
> Vaulted  
> Confusion


End file.
